BIG INCREASE IN U.S. FOREIGN AID

This New York Times article describes the US$ 2 billion increase in U.S. foreign development assistance, bringing the total to US$ 8.6 billion. This is the first tangible step implementing the President’s promise to increase America's foreign aid budget by 15 percent a year — or $5 billion over three years, the first real expansion in more than a decade.

The new budget would double aid to Africa, and begin ramping up the AIDS program. Much of the increase will sidestep the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and, instead, go to a newly created program called the Millennium Challenge Account.